Display data processor and display data processing method

ABSTRACT

According to one embodiment, a display data processor includes a first acquisition module, at least one image quality change module, a second acquisition module, a controller, and an output module. The first acquisition module acquires display data for displaying video on a display screen. The at least one image quality change module performs processing to change image quality on the display data. The second acquisition module acquires data corresponding to the video and instructing pause of the video. The controller changes an operation of the at least one image quality change module based on the data acquired by the second acquisition module. The output module outputs one of the display data on which the processing is performed by the at least one of the image quality change modules and the display data that is acquired by the first acquisition module.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2013-130924, filed Jun. 21, 2013, theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to a display dataprocessor and a display data processing method.

BACKGROUND

Conventionally, there has been known a technique that enhances qualityof video of a content and display the high-quality video.

For such technique, it is preferable to be able to more efficientlydecrease a load of an arithmetic processor due to processing of changingimage quality.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A general architecture that implements the various features of theinvention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Thedrawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrateembodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope of theinvention.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary diagram illustrating one example of a systemcomprising a display data processor according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram illustrating a schematicconfiguration of one example of the display data processor in theembodiment;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating one example of a processingsequence in the system comprising the display data processor in theembodiment;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary diagram illustrating one example of high-qualityimage processing performed in each of a condition in which video isdisplayed as a moving image and a condition in which the video image isdisplayed in a static in the display data processor in the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary diagram illustrating one example of high-qualityimage processing performed depending on presence or absence of copyrightprotection in the display data processor in the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary flowchart illustrating one example of imagequality change processing performed by the display data processor in theembodiment;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary schematic diagram illustrating one example ofdisplay in each region of a display screen corresponding to the displaydata processor in the embodiment;

FIG. 8 is an exemplary diagram illustrating one example of high-qualityimage processing performed for each region in FIG. 7, in the embodiment;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary schematic diagram illustrating another example ofdisplay in each region of the display screen corresponding to thedisplay data processor in the embodiment; and

FIG. 10 is an exemplary diagram illustrating one example of high-qualityimage processing performed for each region in FIG. 9, in the embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In general, according to one embodiment, a display data processorcomprises a first acquisition module, at least one image quality changemodule, a second acquisition module, a controller, and an output module.The first acquisition module is configured to acquire display data fordisplaying video on a display screen. The at least one image qualitychange module configured to perform processing to change image qualityon the display data. The second acquisition module configured to acquiredata corresponding to the video and instructing pause of the video. Thecontroller configured to change an operation of the at least one imagequality change module based on the data acquired by the secondacquisition module. The output module configured to output one of thedisplay data on which the processing is performed by the at least one ofthe image quality change modules and the display data that is acquiredby the first acquisition module.

The following embodiment and modifications comprise the sameconfiguration elements. The same configuration elements are given thesame reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions thereof are omitted.The embodiment and the modifications containing the same configurationelements can attain the same results (effects) based on the sameconfiguration elements. Ordinal numbers such as first and second in thepresent specification are given for convenience in order to distinguishthe configuration elements or the like, and do not represent, forexample, the order of processing, priority, or importance.

In the present embodiment, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, atleast one (two, for example, in the present embodiment) electronicdevice 1A (1) and one electronic device 1B (1) are connected such thatdata is transmittable and receivable (communicable) through wire orwirelessly. The electronic devices 1A and 1B may communicate directly,or may communicate indirectly via an electronic device such as a router.The electronic devices 1 are, for example, a television receiver, apersonal computer, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a game player, an electronic dictionary, and anelectronic book reader. The electronic devices 1 do not necessarilyintegrally comprise a display screen 1 a or a display screen 1 b and anaudio output device (a speaker, not illustrated), but may be a set-topbox, a home terminal, or the like.

Data (display data) of video (an image, a moving image, or a staticimage) and data (audio data) of a sound are sent from the electronicdevice 1A to the electronic device 1B using a predeterminedcommunication protocol. The electronic device 1B displays the video onthe basis of the received data, and outputs the corresponding sound.Hereinafter, the electronic device 1A that transmits data of video anddata of a sound is referred to as a source device 1A, and the electronicdevice 1B that receives the data of video and the data of a sound isreferred to as a sink device 1B. In the present embodiment, the sourcedevice 1A is an example of a first electronic device, and the sinkdevice 1B is an example of a second electronic device. The sink device1B (electronic device) is also an example of the display data processorin the present embodiment. When data of video and data of a sound aretransmitted or received, encryption and decryption processing may beperformed as appropriate.

In the present embodiment, for example, data of video (a screen video, ascreen image) displayed on the display screen 1 a corresponding to thesource device 1A is transmitted (transferred) to the sink device 1B, andthe video is displayed on the display screen 1 b corresponding to thesink device 1B. The display screen 1 b of the sink device 1B comprises adisplay region 1 b 1 and a display region 1 b 2 corresponding torespective source devices 1A. The display regions may be only one regioncorresponding to one source device 1A. In the present embodiment, forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the video Imb1 corresponding to (thesame as) the video Ima1 displayed on the display screen 1 a of thesource device 1A (a tablet, for example) illustrated in the left side ofFIG. 1 is displayed on the display region 1 b 1 in the left side of thedisplay screen 1 b of the sink device 1B, and the video Imb2corresponding to (the same as) video Ima2 displayed on the displayscreen 1 a of the source device 1A (a personal computer, for example)illustrated in the right side of FIG. 1 is displayed on the displayregion 1 b 2 in the right side of the display screen 1 b of the sinkdevice 1B. It should be noted that FIG. 1 is only an example, anddisplay modes can be changed in various ways.

Between the source device 1A and the sink device 1B, relevant data(instruction data, metadata, and control data, for example)corresponding to the video and the sound is also transmitted andreceived using a predetermined protocol. Display of the video and outputof the sound, arithmetic processing associated therewith, and the likecan be controlled on the basis of the relevant data. Specifically, therelevant data may be, for example, instruction data that instructs pauseand play (resume, cancellation of pause) of the video of moving images,metadata indicating whether content of the video of the moving images(content displayed as a screen video) is protected by copyright(presence or absence of copyright protection), and metadata indicatingidentification information of the source device 1A. As the metadataindicating whether the content is protected by copyright, data (flag)indicating presence or absence of copyright protection, data ofcopyright protection information included in the content, or data ofencryption key can be used, for example.

In the present embodiment, for example, the sink device 1B illustratedin FIG. 2 is configured as a computer and comprises a central processingunit (CPU), a controller, a storage module, an input module, an outputmodule, and a communications module 12. The communications module 12executes transmission and reception (communication) of data to and fromthe source device 1A. The storage module is, for example, a randomaccess memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a hard disk drive (HDD),or a solid state drive (SSD). The storage module comprises aninformation storage module 14. The information storage module 14 is anon-volatile storage module, and is the HDD or the SSD, for example. Thecontroller comprises a display controller 13. The display controller 13controls a display device so that a video image is displayed on thebasis of data received from a controller 11. The display controller 13may be an example of the output module. The display device is, forexample, a liquid crystal display (LCD) or an organicelectro-luminescent display (GELD). The CPU can execute various types ofarithmetic processing in accordance with loaded programs (an operatingsystem [OS], an application, and a web application, for example). In thepresent embodiment, for example, processing of the CPU or the like inaccordance with the programs causes the controller 11 (a first dataacquisition module 11 a, a display mode determination module 11 b, adisplay image synthesizing module 11 c, a second data acquisition module11 d, an image quality change controller 11 e, an image quality changemodule 11 f, and an output module 11 g) illustrated in FIG. 2 tofunction.

Although the configuration is not illustrated, the source device 1A isalso configured as a computer and comprises a CPU, a controller, astorage module, an input module, an output module, and a communicationsmodule. The storage module is, for example, a RAM, a ROM, an HDD, or anSSD.

Computer programs for the source device 1A, the sink device 1B, or thelike may be provided in such a manner in which the programs are recordedas files in an installable format or in an executable format in astorage media, such as a compact disc ROM (CD-ROM), a flexible disc(FD), a CD recordable (CD-R), or a digital versatile disc (DVD), thatcan be read by a computer. The programs may be stored in a storagemodule of a computer connected to a communication network, and may beinstalled by downloading via the network. The program may be prebuilt inthe ROM or the like.

The first data acquisition module 11 a (a first acquisition module) ofthe sink device 1B acquires data of video and data of sound from, forexample, the source device 1A. The first data acquisition module 11 acan decrypt encrypted data as necessary.

The display mode determination module 11 b determines a display mode of,for example, video (an image, a moving image or a static image)corresponding to the data of the video acquired by the first dataacquisition module 11 a on the display screen 1 b corresponding to thesink device 1B. The display mode determination module 11 b candetermine, for example, the number, position, and size of a displayregion for the video on the basis of information stored in theinformation storage module 14. The information storage module 14 maystore, for example, identification information (a device specificnumber, an IP address, and a MAC address, for example) of a connectablesource device 1A. The information storage module 14 may storeinformation such as the identification information and the number ofsource devices 1A, and information such as the number, position, andsize of the display region for the video on the display screen 1 b ofthe sink device 1B in a manner associated with each other. Accordingly,the display mode determination module 11 b can determine the displaymode of the video on the basis of the identification information and thenumber of source devices 1A corresponding to the video. The display modedetermination module 11 b can also determine a display mode of the videoon the basis of instruction data and control data with respect to thedisplay mode that the second data acquisition module 11 d has acquiredfrom the source device 1A or the like.

The display image synthesizing module 11 c synthesizes, for example,data to display video and data to display an additional information intoimage data displayed on the display screen 1 b corresponding to the sinkdevice 1B.

The second data acquisition module 11 d (a second acquisition module, athird acquisition module) acquires relevant data corresponding to thevideo from, for example, the source device 1A and a remote controller(not illustrated).

The image quality change controller 11 e changes, for example, anoperation state of the image quality change module 11 f (a high-qualityimage processing module). When the controller 11 comprises a pluralityof image quality change modules 11 f, the image quality changecontroller 11 e can switch on and off (operation and stop) of each ofthe image quality change modules 11 f. The image quality change modules11 f perform processing to change image quality (processing to enhanceimage quality) of video data. In addition, the image quality changemodule 11 f can change the image quality change modules 11 e thatperform processing on each of the display regions 1 b 1 and 1 b 2 of thedisplay screen 1 b. The image quality change controller 11 e is anexample of the controller.

The output module 11 g outputs video data (display data) to the displaycontroller 13 (and then to the display device).

The controller 11 can comprise a plurality of image quality changemodules 11 f. Specifically, the controller 11 can comprise, for example,an image quality change module 11 f that performs processing of texturerestoration. The texture restoration is a technique to restore minutepatterns in video that were lost when the video was captured bygenerating more minute patterns on the basis of luminance changingpatterns of the video. The controller 11 can comprise, for example, animage quality change module 11 f that performs processing of glossrestoration. The gloss restoration is a technique to restore gloss ofvideo that was lost when the video was captured by separating a glosscomponent of the video and enhancing it. The controller 11 can comprise,for example, an image quality change module 11 f that performsprocessing of depth feel recovery. The depth feel recovery is atechnique that gives video a characteristic in which an object in thevideo is seen with a sense of distance. This is achieved, for example,by simply enlarging a region of the sky or the infinity so as not toenhance noises, by performing super resolution processing on a region ofa distant view such that the processing causes a smaller superresolution effect than that in a normal condition, and by performing thesuper resolution processing on a region of a close-distance view suchthat the processing causes a normal super resolution effect. Inaddition, the controller 11 can comprise other image quality changemodules 11 f that perform various types of processing such as noisereduction, super resolution processing using a plurality of frames, andhigh-quality image processing based on histograms. The controller 11 canalso comprise an image quality change module 11 f that performshigh-quality image processing on a plurality of frames of video (image)(before being paused) as high-quality image processing in a staticcondition (pause condition) of a moving image. The controller 11 cancomprise a CPU dedicated to image quality change processing(high-quality image processing).

The controller 11 can change image quality of video data in accordancewith, for example, the procedure illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. 3illustrates an example of a processing sequence used in a case in whichthe operation of an image quality change module 11 f is changeddepending on whether video of moving images is displayed as movingimages or the moving image is displayed in a static condition.Specifically, while a screen video (video) is being transmitted from thesource device 1A to the sink device 1B, the source device 1A transmitsto the sink device 1B instruction data (relevant data, SET_PARAMETER[PAUSE trigger] of real time streaming protocol [RTSP]) that instructspause of display of the video, and then, the sink device 1B transmits aresponse (SET_PARAMETER response) thereof to the source device 1A. Thecontroller 11 and the display controller 13 of the sink device 1B putthe moving image into a static condition. In other words, the controller11 and the display controller 13 display one frame out of a plurality offrames constituting the moving images on the display screen 1 bcorresponding to the sink device 1B. At this time, the image qualitychange controller 11 e changes image quality change modules 11 f tooperate in accordance with, for example, FIG. 4. In an exampleillustrated in FIG. 4, the image quality change controller 11 e controlsthe image quality change modules 11 f to perform high-quality imageprocessing A, B, and F to each frame in the moving images while themoving image is displayed, and controls the image quality change modules11 f to perform high-quality image processing A to E to one frame in themoving image when the moving image is displayed in the static condition.A plurality of (six, for example, in the present embodiment) differenttypes of high-quality image processing A to F can be performed, forexample, by a plurality of (six, for example, in the present embodiment)respective image quality change modules 11 f. In this case, while amoving image is displayed, the image quality change controller 11 ecauses three image quality change modules 11 f to operate that performthe high-quality image processing A, B, and F, respectively, whereas theimage quality change controller 11 e causes the other three imagequality change modules 11 f not to operate that perform the high-qualityimage processing C to E, respectively. When the video of the movingimages is displayed in the static condition, the image quality changecontroller 11 e causes five image quality change modules 11 f to operatethat perform the high-quality image processing A to E, respectively,whereas the image quality change controller 11 e causes the remainingone image quality change module 11 f not to operate that performs thehigh-quality image process F. It is apparent from FIG. 4 that, dependingon whether the video of the moving images is displayed as a moving image(a moving image is displayed) or displayed in the static condition, theoperation of at least one image quality change module 11 f differs aswell as the number of image quality change modules 11 f that operate(perform processing) differs. Further, it is apparent from FIG. 4 thatthe number of image quality change modules 11 f that perform processingwhen the video of the moving images is displayed as a moving image issmaller than the number of image quality change modules 11 f thatperform processing when the video of the moving images is displayed inthe static condition. While moving images are displayed, the controller11 bears a large load of arithmetic processing, whereas the controller11 bears a small load thereof when video in the static condition isdisplayed. In the present embodiment, therefore, the load of thecontroller 11 (arithmetic processing module) can be reduced moreefficiently by switching such image quality change modules 11 f, forexample.

The information storage module 14 stores information (settinginformation such as a table) that indicates operation statesillustrated, for example, in FIG. 4 of the image quality change modules11 f in each case in which the moving image is displayed or the video isin the static condition. The image quality change controller 11 e canswitch the operation of the image quality change modules 11 f on thebasis of the information.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, after the controller 11 and the displaycontroller 13 of the sink device 1B put the video of the moving imagesinto the static condition, and the image quality change controller 11 echanges the image quality change modules 11 f to operate in accordancewith, for example, FIG. 4, the sink device 1B transmits instruction data(relevant data, PAUSE request of RTSP) that instructs stop oftransmission of video image data to the source device 1A. This causesthe source device 1A to stop transmitting the video data and transmits aresponse (PAUSE response) thereof to the sink device 1B.

Thereafter, when the source device 1A transmits instruction data(relevant data, SET_PARAMETER [PLAY trigger] of RTSP) that instructsstart (resume) of display (play) of the video to the sink device 1B, thesink device 1B transmits a response (SET_PARAMETER response) thereof tothe source device 1A. The image quality change controller 11 e of thesink device 1B changes the image quality change modules 11 f to operatein accordance with, for example, FIG. 4. In this case, the operationstate is returned to the state before pause. The sink device 1Btransmits instruction data (relevant data, PLAY request of RTSP) thatinstructs start (resume) of transmission of the video data to the sourcedevice 1A. This causes the source device 1A to transmit a response (PLAYresponse) thereof to the sink device 1B and start (resume) transmittingthe video data.

In the present embodiment, for example, the controller 11 can changeimage quality of video data depending on whether (content of) video isprotected by copyright as illustrated in FIG. 5. In an example of FIG.5, the image quality change controller 11 e controls the image qualitychange modules 11 f to perform the high-quality image processing A, B,and F to each frame of the video when the video is not protected bycopyright, and controls the image quality change modules 11 f to performthe high-quality image processing A to C, and F to each frame of thevideo when the video is protected by copyright. In this case, when thevideo is not protected by copyright, the image quality change controller11 e causes three image quality change modules 11 f to operate thatperform the high-quality image processing A, B, and F, respectively,whereas the image quality change controller 11 e causes the remainingthree image quality change modules 11 f not to operate that perform thehigh-quality image processing C to E, respectively. When the video isprotected by copyright, the image quality change controller 11 e causesfour image quality change modules 11 f to operate that perform thehigh-quality image processing A to C, and F, respectively, whereas theimage quality change controller 11 e causes the remaining two imagequality change modules 11 f not to operate that perform the high-qualityimage processing D and E. It is apparent from FIG. 5 that, depending onwhether the video is protected by copyright, the operation of at leastone image quality change module 11 f differs as well as the number ofimage quality change modules 11 f that operate (perform processing)differ. Further, it is apparent from FIG. 5 that the number of imagequality change modules 11 f that perform processing when the video isnot protected by copyright is smaller than the number of image qualitychange modules 11 f that perform processing when the video is protectedby copyright. In general, (content of) video protected by copyright ismore important and valuable, and also is a higher resolution image thanvideo not protected by copyright in most cases. In the presentembodiment, therefore, the load of the controller 11 (arithmeticprocessing module) can be reduced more efficiently by switching theimage quality change modules 11 f, for example.

Next, it is descried a series of processing (procedure) performed by thecontroller 11, with reference to FIG. 6. The controller 11 of the sinkdevice 1B operates as the first data acquisition module 11 a andacquires video data (image data, display data) from the source device 1A(S1). The controller 11 operates as the display mode determinationmodule 11 b and determines the display mode of the video (image) on thedisplay screen 1 b (S2). The controller 11 operates as the display imagesynthesizing module 11 c and synthesizes data to display the video, datato display additional information, and the like into data of an image tobe displayed on the display screen 1 b corresponding to the sink device1B (S3).

When the controller 11 operating as the second data acquisition module11 d acquires relevant data corresponding to the video (Yes at S4), thecontroller 11 operates as the image quality change controller 11 e, and,with reference to the information storage module 14, acquires thesetting information with regard to image quality change (S5). Thecontroller 11 operates as the image quality change controller 11 e, and,when the information acquired from the relevant data satisfies acondition for changing image quality (Yes at S6), the controller 11 edetermines image quality change modules 11 f to operate, and controlsthe image quality change modules 11 f, thereby changing image quality ofthe video data (S7). Next, the controller 11 and the display controller13 output the video data to the display device, thereby displaying thevideo data (display data) on the display screen 1 b (S8). When No isselected at S4 or at S6, the procedure proceeds to S8.

FIG. 7 illustrates one example of an outline of video images displayedon the display screen 1 b when two source devices 1A each transmit videodata to one sink device 1B, and the display screen 1 b corresponding tothe sink device 1B is provided with the display regions 1 b 1 and 1 b 2that correspond to the respective source devices 1A and that displayrespective screen images of the source devices 1A. As illustrated inFIG. 7, the display region 1 b 1 (region 1) in the left side of thedisplay screen 1 b displays video from a source device 1A (source 1).The (content of the) video data from the source device 1A (source 1) isnot protected by copyright. The display region 1 b 2 (region 2) in theright side of the display screen 1 b displays video from the othersource device 1A (source 2). The (content of the) video data from thesource device 1A (source 2) is protected by copyright. The displayregions 1 b 1 and 1 b 2 both display the video as moving images in theexample of FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 illustrates one example of operation states (ON/OFF, underoperation and stop) and operation regions of the image quality changemodules 11 f in the example of FIG. 7 that perform the respectivehigh-quality image processing A to F. The image quality changecontroller 11 e determines the operation states of the image qualitychange modules 11 f illustrated in FIG. 8 on the basis of informationobtained from relevant information. The image quality change modules 11f perform image quality change processing on the regions illustrated inFIG. 8. In the example of FIG. 8, regions to which the image qualitychange processing is performed are defined by a starting point and asize indicating how large it is from the starting point. In the examplesin FIGS. 7 and 8, the display region 1 b 1 (region 1) corresponding to asource device 1A (source 1) is a rectangular region defined by twovertexes that are diagonally disposed and are indicated by coordinates(0, 0) and coordinates (960, 1080) with the two axes in the i directionand in the j direction in FIG. 7. The display region 1 b 2 (region 2)corresponding to the other source device 1A (source 2) is a rectangularregion defined by two vertexes that are diagonally disposed and areindicated by coordinates (960, 0) and coordinates (1920, 1080).According to the setting illustrated in FIG. 8, the high-quality imageprocessing A and B are performed on the video in the regions 1 and 2,the high-quality image processing C is performed on the video in theregion 2, the high-quality image processing D and E are not performed onthe video in the region 1 or in the region 2, and the high-quality imageprocessing F is performed on the video in the regions 1 and 2. In otherwords, in the case of FIG. 8, the video in the region 1 is subjected tothe high-quality image processing A, B and F, and the video in theregion 2 is subjected to the high-quality image processing A to C, andF. The image quality change modules 11 f can perform different types ofimage quality change processing (high-quality image processing) to theregions 1 and 2 on the basis of the setting information illustrated, forexample, in FIG. 8.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of the outline of the video on the displayscreen 1 b when the video data for the display region 1 b 1 (region 1)in FIG. 7 is displayed in the static condition.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of the operation states (ON/OFF,operation and stop) and the operation regions of the image qualitychange modules 11 f in the example of FIG. 9 that perform the respectivehigh-quality image processing A to F. According to the settingillustrated in FIG. 10, the high-quality image processing A to C areperformed on the video in the regions 1 and 2, the high-quality imageprocessing D and E are performed on the video in the region 1, and thehigh-quality image processing F is performed on the video in the region2. In other words, in the case of FIG. 10, the video in the region 1 issubjected to the high-quality image processing A to E, and the video inthe region 2 is subjected to the high-quality image processing A to C,and F. The image quality change modules 11 f can perform different typesof image quality change processing (high-quality image processing) tothe regions 1 and 2 on the basis of the setting information illustrated,for example, in FIG. 10.

As described above, in the present embodiment, for example, theoperation of at least one image quality change module 11 f is differentdepending on whether the video for the moving images is displayed as amoving image or displayed in the static condition. Thus, in the presentembodiment, for example, the load of the controller 11 (arithmeticprocessor) can be reduced more easily than that in a configuration inwhich all the image quality change modules 11 f perform (operate)processing on the video image constantly. In the present embodiment, forexample, image quality change processing can be performed moreefficiently.

In the present embodiment, for example, at least one image qualitychange module 11 f that performs processing on display data when videois displayed as a moving image differs from at least one image qualitychange module 11 f that performs processing on the display data when thevideo is displayed in a static condition. Thus, in the presentembodiment, for example, different types of image quality changeprocessing can be performed relatively easily by switching operation andstop of the processing performed by the image quality change modules 11f.

In the present embodiment, for example, the number of image qualitychange modules 11 f that perform processing on display data when videois displayed as a moving image is smaller than the number of imagequality change modules 11 f that perform processing on the display datawhen the video image is displayed in a static condition. Thus, in thepresent embodiment, for example, image quality of the video in thestatic condition can be more enhanced in which the controller 11 bears asmall load.

In the present embodiment, for example, the image quality changecontroller 11 e determines the image quality change modules 11 f tooperate on the basis of relevant data corresponding to video. Thepresent embodiment, for example, has advantages of switching the imagequality change processing more easily, and of performing moreappropriate image quality change processing on the basis of the relevantdata corresponding to the video data.

In the present embodiment, for example, one type of relevant data is atype of data that instructs pause of the video. Thus, in the presentembodiment, for example, processing to enhance image quality of video ofmoving images in a static condition can be performed relatively easilyusing the relevant data as a trigger acquired from the source device 1A.

In the present embodiment, for example, one type of relevant data is atype of data indicating whether content of video is protected bycopyright. In the present embodiment, for example, switching of theimage quality change processing can be performed more appropriately onthe basis of the importance, or the like of (the content of) the videodata.

In the present embodiment, for example, different image quality changeprocessing is performed for each of the display regions 1 b 1 and 1 b 2(regions) in the display screen 1 b of the sink device 1B. In thepresent embodiment, for example, the image quality change processing canbe performed more efficiently.

Although an embodiment and modifications of the present invention havebeen described, the embodiment and the modifications have been presentedby way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of theinvention. Indeed, the embodiment and modifications described herein canbe embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions,substitutions, combinations, and changes in the form of the embodimentand modifications described herein may be made without departing fromthe spirit of the invention. The accompanying claims and theirequivalents are intended to cover such embodiment or modifications aswould fall within the scope and spirit of the invention. The presentinvention can attain various effects brought by the basic results(effects) obtained by the constituent elements (processes) of thepresent invention. The above described effects are examples.Specifications of each of the constituent elements can be changed asappropriate to be implemented.

In the above described embodiment, for example, although a case isdescribed in which video data is transmitted from a source device to asink device, the embodiment is also applicable in a case in which thevideo data is not transmitted and received between a plurality ofelectronic devices (a case in which a source and a sink are provided inone electronic device, or a case in which the video data is transmittedfrom an electronic device to a corresponding display device). Relevantdata may be identification data (such as a file name) of video(content), instruction data generated by an operation of an user,metadata indicating priority (identifying priority) of video and sourcedevices (electronic devices), metadata indicating which image qualitychange processing is performed for each of the source devices(electronic devices), or the like. The display data processor canincrease the number of types of the image quality change processing(high-quality image processing) to be performed and can perform theimage quality change processing instructed by instruction data forhigher priority. Moreover, information (setting information) obtained byassociating video and a source device (electronic device), and imagequality change processing (high-quality image processing) may be storedin the storage module. The setting information may be rewritable(changeable) by an input operation of the user.

Moreover, the various modules of the systems described herein can beimplemented as software applications, hardware and/or software modules,or components on one or more computers, such as servers. While thevarious modules are illustrated separately, they may share some or allof the same underlying logic or code.

What is claimed is:
 1. A video receiving device comprising: a receiverconfigured to receive video data and first data from a videotransmitting device; at least one hardware processor configured to (1)output the moving image to a display, the moving image being generatedfrom the video data received by the receiver; and (2) stop outputtingthe moving image to the display based on the first data and output astatic image to the display based on the first data, when the receiverreceives the first data from the video transmitting device while the atleast one hardware processor outputs the moving image to the display,the static image being generated from the video data received by thereceiver; and a transmitter configured to transmit second data to thevideo transmitting device based on the first data, when the receiverreceives the first data from the video transmitting device while the atleast one hardware processor outputs the moving image to the display,the second data causing the video transmitting device to stoptransmitting the video data.
 2. The video receiving device of claim 1,wherein the video data includes a plurality of frames, and the at leastone hardware processor is configured to (1) output the plurality offrames as the moving image to the display; and (2) stop outputting themoving image to the display based on the first data and output thestatic image to the display based on the first data, when the receiverreceives the first data from the video transmitting device while the atleast one hardware processor outputs the moving image to the display,the static image being generated from the at least one video frame inthe plurality of video frames, wherein the at least one video frame istransmitted from the video transmitting device before the videotransmitting device stops transmitting the plurality of video frames tothe video receiving device.
 3. The video receiving device of claim 2,wherein the first data and the second data comply with a RTSP (real timestreaming protocol).
 4. The video receiving device of claim 3, whereinthe video receiving device is one of a television receiver, a personalcomputer, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a game player, an electronic dictionary, and an electronic bookreader.
 5. The video receiving device of claim 2, wherein thetransmitter is configured to, when the receiver receives the first data,transmit the second data after the at least one hardware processor (1)stops outputting the moving image to the display; and (2) outputs thestatic image to the display.
 6. The video receiving device of claim 5,wherein the video receiving device is one of a television receiver, apersonal computer, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a game player, an electronic dictionary, and anelectronic book reader.
 7. The video receiving device of claim 2,wherein the at least one hardware processor is configured to resumeoutputting the moving image to the display when the receiver receivesthe plurality of video frames again while the at least one hardwareprocessor outputs the static image to the display.
 8. The videoreceiving device of claim 2, wherein the at least one hardware processoris configured to perform high-quality image processing on the movingimage or the static image and output to the display.
 9. The videoreceiving device of claim 8, wherein the at least one hardware processoris configured to perform first high-quality image processing on themoving image and performs second high-quality image processing on thestatic image.
 10. The video receiving device of claim 2, furthercomprising the display.
 11. The video receiving device of claim 2,wherein the at least one hardware processor comprises a centralprocessing unit (CPU).
 12. The video receiving device of claim 2,wherein the video receiving device is one of a television receiver, apersonal computer, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a game player, an electronic dictionary, and anelectronic book reader.
 13. A video transmitting device configured tocommunicate with a video receiving device, comprising: a transmitterconfigured to transmit a plurality of video frames and first data to thevideo receiving device, the video receiving device being configured tooutput a moving image generated from the plurality of video frames to adisplay, and the first data causing the video receiving device to (1)stop outputting the moving image to the display and (2) output a staticimage generated from at least one video frame in the plurality of videoframes to the display; and a receiver configured to receive second datatransmitted from the video receiving device after the transmittertransmits the first data, wherein the transmitter is configured to stoptransmitting the plurality of video frames to the video receiving devicewhen the receiver receives the second data transmitted from the videoreceiving device while the transmitter transmits the plurality of videoframes, and the at least one video frame is transmitted from thetransmitter before the transmitter stops transmitting the plurality ofvideo frames to the video receiving device.
 14. The video transmittingdevice of claim 13, wherein the first data instructs the video receivingdevice to (1) stop outputting the moving image to the display and (2)output the static image generated from the at least one video frame inthe plurality of video frames to the display.
 15. The video transmittingdevice of claim 14 wherein the first data and the second data complywith a RTSP (real time streaming protocol).
 16. The video transmittingdevice of claim 15, wherein the video transmitting device is one of atelevision receiver, a personal computer, a smartphone, a mobile phone,a personal digital assistant (PDA), a game player, an electronicdictionary, and an electronic book reader.
 17. The video transmittingdevice of claim 14, wherein the video receiving device comprises atleast one hardware processor configured to (1) output the plurality ofvideo frames as the moving image to the display; and (2) stop outputtingthe moving image to the display based on the first data and output thestatic image to the display based on the first data, when the receiverreceives the first data while the at least one hardware processoroutputs the moving image to the display.
 18. The video transmittingdevice of claim 17, wherein the video transmitting device is one of atelevision receiver, a personal computer, a smartphone, a mobile phone,a personal digital assistant (PDA), a game player, an electronicdictionary, and an electronic book reader.
 19. The video transmittingdevice of claim 14, wherein the video transmitting device is one of atelevision receiver, a personal computer, a smartphone, a mobile phone,a personal digital assistant (PDA), a game player, an electronicdictionary, and an electronic book reader.
 20. The video transmittingdevice of claim 14, further comprising a solid state device (SSD) or ahard disk drive (HDD).
 21. A video receiving device comprising: areceiver configured to receive video data and first data from a videotransmitting device; a display configured to (1) display a moving image,the moving image being generated from the video data received by thereceiver; and (2) stop displaying the moving image based on the firstdata and display a static image based on the first data, when thereceiver receives the first data from the video transmitting devicewhile the display displays the moving image, the static image beinggenerated from the video data received by the receiver; and atransmitter configured to transmit second data to the video transmittingdevice based on the first data, when the receiver receives the firstdata from the video transmitting device while the display displays themoving image, the second data causing the video transmitting device tostop transmitting the video data to the video receiving device.
 22. Thevideo receiving device of claim 21, wherein the video data includes aplurality of frames, and the display is configured to (1) display theplurality of frames as the moving image; and (2) stop displaying themoving image based on the first data and display the static image basedon the first data, when the receiver receives the first data from thevideo transmitting device while the display displays the moving image,the static image being generated from at least one video frame in theplurality of video frames, wherein the at least one video frame istransmitted from the video transmitting device before the videotransmitting device stops transmitting the plurality of video frames tothe video receiving device.
 23. The video receiving device of claim 22,wherein the first data and the second data comply with a RTSP (real timestreaming protocol).
 24. The video receiving device of claim 23, whereinthe video receiving device is one of a television receiver, a personalcomputer, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a game player, an electronic dictionary, and an electronic bookreader.
 25. The video receiving device of claim 22, wherein thetransmitter is configured to, when the receiver receives the first data,transmit the second data after the display (1) stops displaying themoving image; and (2) displays the static image.
 26. The video receivingdevice of claim 25, wherein the video receiving device is one of atelevision receiver, a personal computer, a smartphone, a mobile phone,a personal digital assistant (PDA), a game player, an electronicdictionary, and an electronic book reader.
 27. The video receivingdevice of claim 22, wherein the video receiving device is one of atelevision receiver, a personal computer, a smartphone, a mobile phone,a personal digital assistant (PDA), a game player, an electronicdictionary, and an electronic book reader.
 28. A method for receiving animage, comprising: receiving video data and first data from a videotransmitting device; performing processing to (1) output a moving imageto a display, the moving image being generated from the video datareceived; and (2) stop outputting the moving image to the display basedon the first data and output a static image to the display based on thefirst data, in case of receiving the first data from the videotransmitting device in outputting the moving image to the display, thestatic image being generated from the video data received; andtransmitting second data to the video transmitting device based on thefirst data, in case of receiving the first data from the videotransmitting device in outputting the moving image to the display, thesecond data causing the video transmitting device to stop transmittingthe video data.
 29. The method-of claim 28, wherein the video dataincludes a plurality of video frames to the video receiving device, andperforming processing to (1) output the plurality of frames as themoving image to the display; and (2) stop outputting the moving image tothe display based on the first data and output the static image to thedisplay based on the first data, in case of receiving the first datafrom the video transmitting device in outputting the moving image to thedisplay, the static image being generated from at least one video framein the plurality of video frames wherein the at least one video frame istransmitted from the video transmitting device before the videotransmitting device stops transmitting the plurality of video frames tothe video receiving device.
 30. The method of claim 29, wherein thefirst data and the second data comply with a RTSP (real time streamingprotocol).
 31. The method of claim 29, further comprising: in case ofreceiving the first data, transmitting the second data after performingprocessing to (1) stops outputting the moving image to the display; and(2) outputs the static image to the display.
 32. The method of claim 29,wherein performing processing to resume outputting the moving image tothe display in case of receiving the plurality of video frames again inoutputting the static image to the display.
 33. The method of claim 29,wherein performing processing to perform high-quality image processingon the moving image or the static image and output to the display. 34.The method of claim 33, wherein performing processing to perform firsthigh-quality image processing on the moving image and performs secondhigh-quality image processing on the static image.
 35. A method fortransmitting an image, comprising: transmitting a video data and firstdata to a video receiving device, the video receiving device beingconfigured to output a moving image generated from the video data to adisplay, and the first data causing the video receiving device to (1)stop outputting the moving image to the display and (2) output a staticimage generated from the video data to the display; and receiving seconddata transmitted from the video receiving device after transmitting thefirst data, wherein performing processing to stop transmitting the videodata when performing processing to receive the second data transmittedfrom the video receiving device, wherein the video data includes aplurality of frames, the video receiving device is configured to outputthe plurality of frames as the moving image to the display. the firstdata causes the video receiving device to (1) stop outputting theplurality of frames as the moving image to the display and (2) outputthe static image being generated from the at least one video frame inthe plurality of video to the display, and the at least one video frameis transmitted from the video transmitting device before the videotransmitting device stops transmitting the plurality of video frames tothe video receiving device.
 36. The method of claim 35, wherein thefirst data instructs the video receiving device to (1) stop outputtingthe moving image to the display and (2) output the static imagegenerated from the at least one video frame to the display.
 37. Themethod of claim 36, wherein the video receiving device is configured totransmit the second data based on the first data.
 38. The method ofclaim 35, wherein the first data and the second data comply with a RTSP(real time streaming protocol).